Denver @ New Orleans preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 17, 2018 ) Denver 115, New Orleans 125

The circus involving Anthony Davis wasn't a distraction in the team's last game, but things could be different when the New Orleans Pelicans host the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. The home contest will be the first for New Orleans since Davis' agent publicly requested a trade on Monday, an act that prompted the NBA to fine Davis $50,000 the following day.

Davis (finger) will miss his fifth straight game, and the Pelicans didn't let the situation strip their focus as they posted an impressive 121-116 road win over Houston on Tuesday. "That's going to play out the way it plays out," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters of the Davis situation, with the trading deadline of Feb. 7 closing in. "I don't talk about it very much. I think it's out in the public now, and I think everything that needed to be said has been said." The Nuggets have won 13 of their last 17 games after recovering from a 25-point deficit to record a 95-92 victory in Memphis on Monday. "We just didn't give up," star center Nikola Jokic told reporters after his team outscored the Grizzlies 35-15 in the final quarter. "That says something about the team. We don't want to quit. We were fighting."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), FS New Orleans

ABOUT THE NUGGETS (34-15): The comeback was the largest since Denver also overcame a 25-point deficit to post a 113-106 win over Indiana on Nov. 10, 2007. Backup guard Malik Beasley helped ignite the rally with 13 fourth-quarter points as the Nuggets responded to coach Michael Malone's halftime tongue-lashing. "We had to bring it on defense," Beasley told reporters. "We weren't knocking down shots. So I think that messed up our mental (focus) on defense. We just picked it up and didn't worry about our offense and just played defense, got some stops and runs and just did our jobs."

ABOUT THE PELICANS (23-28): The NBA's collective bargaining agreement prohibits players and their agents from publicly requesting trades, and the league said comments made by agent Rich Paul were "an intentional effort to undermine the contractual relationship between Davis and the Pelicans." Jahlil Okafor continues to take advantage of Davis' absence as he scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against the Rockets for his fourth double-double in five games since being inserted into the starting lineup. Jrue Holiday recorded 19 points, eight assists, six rebounds and a career-best six blocks in a solid all-around effort.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The teams split this season's first two meetings.

2. New Orleans PF Julius Randle (ankle) will miss his fourth straight game.

3. Denver PG Jamal Murray (ankle) will sit out his third consecutive contest.

PREDICTION: Nuggets 108, Pelicans 102